Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

This undoubtedly added fuel to the fire of Xiangzi's already precarious rationality.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Um, I can explain... let me put my pants on first."

Seeing that Mr. Daisho's face was flushed with anger and he turned around to cover his eyes, almost screaming, Kazama calmly pulled up his pants.

He also retrieved his own belt from the pale-faced Metis.

Oh no, she's going to be found out now—her eyes were lifeless, and her face was pale and weak. Wait, so you have absolutely no shame about accidentally pulling someone's pants down?

"What happens between the two of us is just between us. If—if you really did something to Mutsu, I will absolutely never forgive you! Kazama-kun!"

Just as Kazama tightened his belt, Shoko, who was still facing away from him, turned halfway around in a fit of rage and pointed her slender, white index finger straight at Kazama.

What kind of scenario is this where a husband who's away on a business trip comes home to find his wife having a passionate encounter with the plumber who came to fix the pipes right in front of their house, and all he can do is silently accept being cuckolded and forgive her with tears in his eyes?

However, Kazama, whose attention is always rather unconventional, quickly noticed the key point in Shoko's words.

"Hmm...so you mean it's okay if the target is you, Xiangzi?"

"Ha ha?!"

Miss Xiangzi turned her head in a panic and shame, her face filled with the helplessness of an honest man being driven to desperation.

She felt as terrified as a husband returning from a business trip discovering that the plumber not only wanted to have a passionate encounter with his wife, but also wanted to have sex with her.

"I knew I had to say that before you'd turn around and look at us properly."

Kazama shrugged, having already put his pants back on; he was upright and had nothing to fear.

"Well………"

On the contrary, Metis, still sitting on the floor in his disheveled pajamas, cast a slightly slanted shadow.

“I was the one whose pants were pulled just now, so Xiangzi, you can’t call me a pervert this time.”

As Kazama distanced himself from him, Metis could feel Shoko's scrutinizing gaze fixed on him, looking him up and down thoroughly.

Oh no, I'm sure I'll be recognized.

Just when Metis had tacitly agreed that disaster was imminent, Xiangzi said something that surprised her.

"Mu...did you do this on your own initiative?"

……Eh?

She didn't seem to recognize her.

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Xiangzi, You're Not Qualified to Discuss Fetishism

"No, you can't do that to someone of the opposite sex, Mum!"

Before Kazama and Metis could react, a blushing Xiangzi rushed to their side and shielded them with her body.

Of course, she was just worried that the two of them might accidentally do something they shouldn't.

"No matter how smooth-talking Kazama-kun is, boys and girls should still maintain basic social distance—and definitely shouldn't pull down someone's pants!"

"How can being eloquent be considered my fault?"

Miss Xiangzi didn't care at all whether Kazama's chastity was threatened. Only after confirming that her childhood friend was safe did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Then he turned his head and stared intently at Kazama, who was tightening his belt, with those familiar amber eyes.

"If you, Kazama-kun, have those kinds of feelings for Mutsumi, I will absolutely fight you to the end!"

"Hey, hey, isn't it me, Mu, who got his pants pulled down?"

Besides, is it really possible for a son to have inappropriate fantasies about his teenage mother?

"Who knows how far your fetish has gone?"

Xiangzi retorted without holding back, and at the same time helped Mu, who was still in shock, to her feet.

"It's alright, Mutsu. As long as I'm here, you don't have to worry about being touched by Kazama-kun's tentacles."

"Why are you describing me as some kind of slimy octopus creature again?"

However, what Kazama, with his arms crossed, was more concerned about than Shoko's consistently sarcastic attitude—

On the contrary, it was Metis who was being protected by Xiangzi and had not yet reacted to Xiangzi's words.

Perhaps she was too exhausted from this period of time, or perhaps she had other worries on her mind, in any case, Toyokawa Shoko did not notice the abnormality of the childhood friend she was protecting behind her.

Will Metis, with his cunning mind, use this to cleverly disguise himself once again?

Kazama was simply curious about this.

"Don't... blame Xiao."

As expected, after a brief moment of thought, Metis immediately adopted the calm expression and composed voice that Xiao Mu possessed, and then gently grasped Xiangzi's sleeve.

"This has nothing to do with Xiao. It was me... I was too reckless just now, and that's why I accidentally..."

Mu didn't continue, and knowing her personality well, Xiangzi quickly picked up where his childhood sweetheart left off. (Yinglinqi (8) 4746)

"It's okay, Mu! You just need to rest! It's my fault, you shouldn't feel guilty about what happened between me and him..."

Shoko, who had been so tough in front of Kazama, turned around and began to comfort Mutsu in a gentle and kind tone.

I've never seen anyone so obviously hypocritical, but if it were Toyokawa Shoko towards Wakaba Mutsumi, Kazama could actually accept it.

It's just...

When will our Miss Toyokawa realize that the girl in front of her isn't actually her childhood sweetheart?

Kazama said nothing more, only smiling silently as he watched Metis begin her performance, and Toyokawa Shoko, who was already on stage but still completely unaware.

"Um, Mu... I came here this time... actually thinking you wouldn't talk to me anymore..."

When he spoke of the things that made him feel guilty, Xiangzi's voice became barely audible.

"How, how could it be possible?"

Teacher Da Mo clearly lost her composure for a moment, but she immediately returned to her role and immersed herself in the identity of "Mu".

"I just, just..."

She had a sudden inspiration and came up with the best way to sow discord between the two.

"Xiang hasn't been able to be by my side lately, and I've been feeling so lonely... That's why I wanted to come to Xiao to get some security and warmth..."

What kind of pathetic female protagonist is this, whose boyfriend was stolen by a blond guy, and after the affair was exposed, she started making statements to justify her primal desires? Seriously, you brat, haven't you forgotten about sowing discord? Your survival instincts are really strong!

"I'm sorry... It was my oversight that made you feel lonely... I was also at fault in this matter!"

Shoko Toyokawa, what's gotten into you again? You're acting like a heartbroken victim who witnessed his wife's infidelity but decided to forgive her and took all the blame upon yourself.

"Speaking of which... why is Kazama-kun here?"

After confirming that Mu was indeed protected behind him, Xiangzi finally found an opportunity to turn his attention to Kazama, who was only planning to watch the drama unfold.

“Miss Xiangzi, you keep asking me similar questions. Why are you here? Why are you there? Why are you with my former teammate? Why are you at my childhood friend’s house? Why are you friends with my childhood sweetheart? I’m so tired of hearing it.”

Kazama hooked his earlobe with his little finger. Since Aunt Xiangzi was never polite to him, he naturally had no need to maintain his politeness.

"Ultimately, do you really think that other people's homes, former teammates' recording studios—are all under your jurisdiction? You nosy god."

"Well………"

Xiangzi, who had never been so ridiculed before, blushed. She wanted to say something in rebuttal, but since she was in the wrong, she had nothing to say. She could only let her cheeks puff up like a guinea pig, holding back her frustration and indignation.

"Why you came here is the same reason I came here."

Kazama shrugged. He wouldn't go easy on Xiangzi just because she was his mother's childhood sweetheart—besides, the person watching was Metis, who was eager for them to fight, not Xiao Mu. So he could be even more unrestrained in confronting Xiangzi.

"You said you came to check on your childhood friend Mu, but actually, if it weren't for that bet, you wouldn't have dared to come and face Mu directly, right?"

He once again hit Toyokawa Shoko's sore spot with his sharp insight.

"Ugh... Why did you use that tone that made it seem like you knew us so well..."

Xiangzi was unwilling to accept this, but he couldn't find the right words to retaliate.

Why is this guy always able to so easily see through other people's true nature—and even glimpse the dark side hidden in their hearts?

Perhaps Toyokawa Shoko harbored hostility towards Kazama Akira not only because he had always been on the opposite side, but also because he seemed to understand her better than anyone else.

It's terrifying that someone who can't be your friend understands you so well. (Abandoned Japanese III Zero (Nine)) 7 is such a thing.

"Even if you're a beat slow to react, you should have realized it by now, right?"

Kazama, however, had no time to continue this psychological game with Shoko. He lazily exposed Shoko's facade of strength masked by weakness—and at the same time, he also exposed the disguise of another girl.

"Take a closer look and see who your childhood sweetheart really is."

"...?"

At this point, Toyokawa Shoko belatedly realized what was going on.

Is something wrong with Xiao Mu today?

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Teacher Da Xiang's Complete Defeat

What kind of person is my childhood friend, Wakaba Mutsu?

Toyokawa Shoko was actually aware of this all along.

Poor language skills, doesn't like to talk, and can't express their inner needs. Even when pressured by others, they may only remain silent and suppress their feelings. They are a soft-hearted child who needs to be taken care of.

It was precisely because Mutsumi was not good at expressing herself that Toyokawa Shoko repeatedly treated Mutsumi's troubles as her own and her trivial matters as her own responsibility.

Xiangzi always thought these were obligations that his childhood sweetheart and his partner should fulfill.

So even when Mu sometimes acted really spineless, Xiangzi would step in to clean up her mess. And Mu would always silently stand by Xiangzi's side when she was in trouble, and even left the band CRYCHIC with her.

No matter how bad she is at expressing herself, Mu will prove her stance through her actions.

Would a child like that really say something like, "I feel lonely and insecure, and I want to draw warmth from others"?

Xiangzi, finally realizing something was wrong, turned around abruptly—

"That's why I said, Xiao, you can be really annoying sometimes."

What met his eyes was the undisguised expression of resentment and indignation displayed by the long-haired green-haired girl.

"I almost fooled Xiangzi just now, you must have deliberately reminded her, right?"

Just as a poorly executed one-man show has been exposed and the protagonist of the drama has lost all interest in performing, the girl casually shrugged.

Xiangzi stared at her blankly, and for a moment felt that the girl who was once so familiar had suddenly become so strange.

"Alright, alright, I knew this day would come anyway, you can't hide the truth forever. But..."

The girl no longer stayed comfortably in the shadows as the "protected one" shielded by Toyokawa Shoko. Instead, she leisurely and lazily walked out from behind Shoko, looking up and down at the girl who had so resolutely protected her with a malicious gaze.

"I didn't expect you, Xiangzi, to be so slow to react, even needing Xiao's reminder to notice my presence."

It was a gaze that contained the purest malice, like that of a child.

It was through this that Toyokawa Shoko finally realized the truth about the cruel and incompetent person before her.

"You...you're not Mu?"

She gasped, her voice trembling as she revealed the truth.

"Bingo~ Xiangzi, you're actually even more oblivious than I thought~ It's a good thing you're not the male protagonist of a romance novel, otherwise such a clueless male lead would definitely get bad reviews~"

That's hard to say; he'll probably just be called a male succubus.

Kazama watched as these two childhood friends, who had once been incredibly close, began to re-evaluate each other, but inwardly he was astonished by Metis's behavior just now.

—That guy used the same trick he used to intimidate Kazama and Sose again, didn't he?

Just moments ago, Metis was wearing a mournful face, clinging to Kazama's trouser leg like a sloth, just to beg him not to reveal his true identity to Shoko...

As a result, Kazama still brought this up, so Teacher Da Mo decided that even if it meant putting on a brave face, he had to try and trick Xiangzi.

Hmm, maybe we can trick Xiangzi into feigning surrender.